Extreme Fans Fake Emergency Landing To See Team Play

Status: Pathetic, but true
Fanatical Gambian soccer fans chartered a jet and faked the need for an emergency landing so that they could watch their team play:

The plane, claiming to be low on fuel, landed Tuesday in Peru's northern coast city of Piura, where Gambia played Qatar in the FIFA Under-17 World Championships later that night. Emergency crews were scrambled ahead of the Lockhead L1011 Tri-Star's unscheduled landing. It was to have landed in the capital, Lima. The fans were allowed to watch the soccer game in Piura, which Gambia won 3-1. The fans apparently would have been late or missed the game if the flight had first gone to its scheduled destination of Lima, 550 miles to the south. "It truly was a scam," said Betty Maldonado, a spokeswoman for Peru's aviation authority, CORPAC. "They tricked the control tower, saying they were low on fuel."

I think there was a TV show on recently about the lengths some fans go to in order to see their teams play. But I can't remember the name of it.

Sports

Posted on Thu Sep 22, 2005


Comments

What? No legal action against people who faked an emergency situation? That's a serious crime, in North America anyway.
Posted by Captain Al  on  Thu Sep 22, 2005  at  10:58 AM
I should have said "Possibly no legal action".

"...while authorities determined what penalty, if any, to levy against the airline."

I suppose I can't yet condemn Peru's aviation authority based on the reporter's words. But I would hope there's no question that something will be done.
Posted by Captain Al  on  Thu Sep 22, 2005  at  11:07 AM
The Football War still is the most extreme I ever learned about football:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_War
http://www.onwar.com/aced/data/sierra/soccer1969.htm
Posted by Henri  on  Thu Sep 22, 2005  at  12:49 PM
(... it was soccer; not football like American Football.)
Posted by Henri  on  Thu Sep 22, 2005  at  12:51 PM
Commenting is not available in this channel entry.